Q in Port Chester

I had lunch there yesterday. I ordered the chopped brisket sandwich and my wife ordered the pulled pork sandwich. The sauce that is infused with the meat in both sandwiches is way too sweet almost like candy. The mac and cheese sides were very good but I wish they would get away from the sacarine sweet sauce that saturates the otherwise quality smoked meat and go with something more vinegary a la eastern north carolina style bbq. i will go back because i like the place but IMHO the way to go is to order the brisket in slices rather than chopped and ask for sauce on the side. i do not know, however, if they will serve the pulled pork with sauce on the side. i found the prices for lunch to be a bit on the high side but reasonable for dinner. they really ought to do a lower priced lunch menu and the place will fill up. Nowadays people really do not want to spend $15-$25 for lunch but that is a very reasonable price point for dinner.

yeah, sauce is too sweet, but I totally agree that their sliced brisket is the best thing there. It isn't always perfect, but it's reached close a few times.

As for lunch... it is on the high side. I think you've got to stick to the sandwiches or lunch specials, all of which are in the $10 range. The sliced brisket sandwich, for example, comes with a side and is ~$9. Not cheap, but not entree price their either.

Someone reported that it's on par with Texas Q. Is that so? Is it pit cooked or does it have a smoke ring? Can you get everything undressed? Any pork ribs? I could always sneak in my Jardine's or Stubbs...BTW, Passadumkeg and I just returned from eating at four places in the Austin area and one each in Georgia and South Carolina, during our 4,000 mile road trip (see our posts and pics). I'm still looking for something decent in Connecticut or on my way into NYC.Pics of Cooper's in Llano and Smitty's in Lockhart, TX

Q in Port Chester uses Southern Prides... so for a wood gas combo, they get a fair result. Best for me is Hill Country on 26th St off 6th; they use Ole Hickory -- don't know if its wood with gas or electric. But they get an excellent brisket, good ribs, if you get their sausage, do the japlapeno (the regular is mealy). They modeled the operation after the Lockhart places, buying by the lb., butcher paper, etc. Daisy Mae is also very good; he wouldn't talk to me about his pit, only said it was custom made. Don't know if I was talking to Adam, but he was the first BBQ guy who wouldn't share general info about his smoker.... that was right when they were opening. Dinosaur I like as well -- he uses J&R Oylers... I think he's got four of the big ones back there. I can't believe he is firing it with all wood, though, cause that would require a pretty good size wood pile that I did not see. mmmmmm.... gotta go get something to eat

Woodburner is right - they use a big ole southern pride. You'll often notice a big 55 gallon trash can full of wood logs. So yes, you get smoke ring, etc. But it's not a full wood burning pit. I don't know of any old school fully wood burning pit anywhere around here.

Q is good for the NY area, and very good for the burbs. They do very good brisket, which, for me, is harder to find done well than pulled pork or even ribs. So for that they always get kudos from me. I am not a huge fan of their ribs (though only tried once). But if you are in the area, it's definitely worth a try.

I really do appreciate all the input. I could give a shit about sides if the Q is good. We had an Uncle Willie's BBQ near us (New Haven) and occasionally the brisket was edible to decent. Now it's closed...

as far as i can tell its basically the same as it was a few years ago. i don't see a slide. the same small areas that need improvement have not been addressed. but its still a very tasty place to go particularly if you remember that not too many years ago there were virtually no places in metro new york to get any barbecue much less reasonably good barbecue.

actually the only difference i detect is a positive one. they got some legitimate criticism early on these boards about the sides being too small and they responded with slightly larger but appropriately sized sides.

That's the problem with Jeff's. If you don't get there shortly after their food is made fresh, you probably shouldn't bother with their ribs and chicken. They sit out for a long time and get dried up and cold. But when they are good, they are very good. Their fresh jerk chicken is amazing. There mac n' cheese is always the incredible!